Phantom
by SuperKnightAL
Summary: Modern day take on the Gaston Leroux "Phantom of the Opera". It's a very different take on the story and it should be an interesting read for those looking for a fresh take on the classic story. Christine Daae has lost everything. With no friends, family, or hope in her life a desperate Christine has no chance but to follow the advice of a "phantom".


_Hey everyone this is SuperKnightAl I wrote this first chapter just to see who really enjoys it or not before I continue. I'd appreciate if you'd read/review it and just really give it a chance. It's really a different take on the "Phantom" universe as you can tell from the first paragraph so yeah! Hope you enjoy it._

_Disclaimer: I'm basing it off the public domain Phantom that no one really "owns" the rights to. Either way I do not own anything around or related to "Phantom of the Opera"._

Chapter 1:

_PRESENT DAY: Inside the tunnels under the University of Cincinnati_

A corpse lays face down right beside the feet of the Persian. The Persian seems to pay no mind to the body because his focus is on keeping his gun aimed at the shadowy figure across from him. Behind the figure covered in shade is a wall of explosives, and in the hand of that figure is a trigger to detonate every one of the bombs on that wall. The Persian appears to be very nervous.

"Put the trigger down! Please, just put it down." the Persian begged.

The Persian realizes he has no choice but to shoot when the figure begins to push down on the detonator. Tears fill the Persians eyes so he tries to keep them shut as he pulls the trigger. The bullet swooshes through the air and travels right through the heart of the shaded figure. The figure cringes as the bullet passes through and then falls from the shade. The trigger rolls from the hands of the now lifeless body.

The smoking gun is released from the Persian's grip and it trickles down from his fingers as if it was water. He drops to his knees and looks around him. Grief, at this moment, was like gravity pushing down on the Persian. Thoughts rushed through his mind, thoughts like "How could this all happen?", "Could I have prevented this?", "What did I do wrong". No matter how he added things up he felt as if it was all his fault. The Persian begins to run his hand along the floor in search of the ground. When he finally finds it he grips it and places it on his head.

"It's better this way..." he thought to himself. He pulls the trigger and another body is added to the pile.

It was soon after that all memory of the Phantom began to fade. He was no longer the prominent thought in the minds of the people. He was no longer something to fear. The Phantom seemed to have left the world just as he entered it.

_10 Years Earlier: inside the home of Johnathon and Nora Daae_

They were in their yard like usual, a young Christine Daae, her father Johnathon, and her mother Nora. Their yard was bigger then most, they had everything a child could ask for. But more important to Christine, than any other material object, were her parents. They had always provided the ideal amount of tenderness and care to her. This day would be like any other day, playing games until the sunset, but something was different. Up above in the sky there were clouds approaching. Drops of rain began to fill the area, thunder began to roar, and lightning danced across the sky. Christine couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was wrong. Her mother and father brought her in close and informed her that the storm wouldn't last long. They quickly changed her gloomy feeling to a much more pleasant one.

"Christine, if you wait this out you might even get the chance to see a rainbow." Nora told her.

"Really mother?" Christine asked.

"Of course." her mother replied swiftly.

It was at that very moment that the storm began to settle down. Christine looked outside and was surprised to see how quickly the weather was reverted back to its normal self. The glow of sunshine that always filled her heart with joy was once more present. Her father walked to the door and held it open for everyone to return outside. Christine looked up in the sky and was extremely disappointed.

"Mother, where is the rainbow?" she asked.

"Well looks like it didn't want to come out this time. You know what that means Christine?" she said with a smile

"What?" Christine asked with a large pout.

"Now we could look forward to the next time it rains. Maybe we'll see a rainbow then.

Christine." she told her.

"I don't like rain." Christine said in a soft voice.

Nora looked up in the sky and bent down next to Christine. She pointed up to the sky where a rainbow had now taken shape.

"Christine.. Even when things look dark and scary, something beautiful may come out of it." she said.

Christine's face lit up instantly and she was once more filled with excitement and joy. She went to hug her mom tightly but something was wrong. Her mother was no longer next to her. She turned frantically and repeatedly screamed for her mother.

Christine tried to run to her father to ask where her mother was, but the faster she ran to him the less likely she was to reach him. He kept moving farther and farther back. When she finally thought she could reach him, she seemed to fall into a large black hole. When she hit the bottom, she felt only dirt around her. She looked up to the only source of light and saw Johnathon and herself looking down at her.

All of a sudden things started to make less and less sense. She was both confused and scared. Christine felt a sharp pain across her entire body which made her entire body stiff. She couldn't even move a finger, the only thing she could do was scream, and she did exactly that. She screamed for what she thought was ages until she was finally able to turn her head. Christine quickly looked to her left to still only see dirt, but when she turned right she was absolutely horrified. She saw her mother beside her trying to reach out to her. Nora reached across and placed her hand on Christine's head.

"It's okay Christine." she said trying to put Christine at ease.

Nora's body began to fall apart before Christine's very eyes. Each layer of skin peeled and cracked, the meat seemed to melt off her bones until she was only a skeleton. Christine was horrified and tried to scream once more. She knew though, that no matter how loud she screamed no one would be able to hear her. Finally she shut her eyes and tried as hard as she could to scream the one word that came to mind "help!"

_10 years ago: Inside Christine Daee's Home_

Johnathon rushed to Christine's bedroom and quickly flicked on the lights. He saw Christine in a seemingly horrified state, the hair along her body stood up and she was covered in a cold sweat. She was still yelling as if she was having the most painful experiencing imaginable. Johnathon ran to his daughter's bed and sat down next to her to hold her and reassure her everything would be okay. Christine quickly embraced him when she realized she was no longer dreaming.

"The nightmare again Christine?" Johnathon asked his daughter.

"Where's mother?" she responded as if she had seen a ghost.

Johnathon remained silent hoping that he wouldn't have to remind her of the horrible events in regards to her mother's death. It then hit Christine and she could only let out a simple "oh". Her father hugged her tightly and she began to profusely let out tears.


End file.
